Date: Fri, 25 Feb 1994 13:28:36 -0500 (EST) From: David Casti Subject: ACTION ALERT: news for Midwestern activists And I remember 1976, when Birch Bayh, Evan's father, campaigned in NYC gay bars while seeking the Democratic presidential nomination. I think he was the first presidential candidate to do so. I remember him, scared and embarrassed at Uncle Charlie's with leaves from a palm tree in his face. Ken ----------------------------Original message---------------------------- Submitted by: RDION@ucs.indiana.edu The Indiana State Senate voted 21-27 on Wednesday, Feb. 23, not to include sexual orientation in its list of protected categories in H.B. 1100, the Hate Crimes Bill. This relatively close vote (for a body with a 28-22 Republican majority) could have been a successful one with the active help of Indiana's Democratic Governor, Evan Bayh. Instead, he worked against the passage of the pro-gay amendment. ACTION: Please contact Governor Evan Bayh at 1-317-232-4567 or at the following address: Hon. Evan Bayh Statehouse, Room 206 200 West Washington Street Indianapolis, IN 46204 Tell him that you do not support or condone his willingness to exclude from protection under the hate crimes law a group that has time and again demonstrated its susceptibility to become victims of bias crimes, in Indiana and elsewhere. Let him know that a strategy that actively excludes gays and lesbians while protecting others on the basis of race, color, gender, national origin, and religion sends a message to Hoosier citizens that violence against gays is not as reprehensible as other hate crimes (and, indeed, may even ENCOURAGE such activity). SPECIAL NOTE: For Indiana residents and neighbors, a rally is being planned by the Indiana GLB community and its friends in front of the Governor's mansion on North Meridian in Indianapolis on Sunday, Feb. 28, at 2 p.m. No civil disobedience is being planned at this time. SUMMARY: When the Ku Klux Klan rallied in Indianapolis last summer, there was increased pressure for the passage of a Hate Crimes law in the state legislature, as a way to send a strong message to bigots and victimizers. The Governor endorsed the Hate Crimes bill in a press conference with the Black Caucus, local ministers, and the Attorney General. This bill included sexual orientation and the Governor expressed his support for this language at that time. In his State of the State address in January, he reiterated his support of the legislation and all the categories it included. The bill passed the House intact, surviving an attempt on the floor to amend out the sexual orientation provisions on a 46-49 vote. In the Republican Senate, it was unclear if the bill would even be allowed a hearing (it had died there in previous sessions). As part of a compromise hatched between the GOP Senate Majority Leader Robert Garton and the Governor, the bill was assigned to a committee on the condition that sexual orientation would be removed. This week, in the Senate Corrections Committee, the bill's Senate sponsor, Sen. Lonnie Randolph (D-E. Chicago) led the way to striking gays and lesbians from the bill on a 5-3 vote. When the bill reached the Senate floor, Sen. Vi Simpson (D-Bloomington) tried to amend the language back in and failed in a close 21-27 vote. Some of those voting against were black Democrats who had been told by Gov. Bayh that they had to vote it down to preserve their chances of passing the bill. (Other black Democrats voted for the Simpson amendment, stating their solidarity with other minority groups). The governor's lobbyists actively opposed the reintroduction of gays and lesbians in the bill. Gay and lesbian leaders in Indiana are convinced that if the governor had worked with them, a majority could have been found for their inclusion. (esp. since Lt. Gov. O'Bannon, a Democrat, has the power to decide tie votes) Instead, he traded away the safety of gays and lesbians to ensure the passage, in incomplete form, of a part of his crime package. Hate crimes statistics gathered and reported by the Indiana Advisory Committee to the U.S. Civil Rights Commission indicate that blacks and gays are the two groups most likely to be victims of hate crimes in Indiana. In the face of this evidence, Indiana's Governor Evan Bayh caved in to the rantings of anti-gay GOP leaders and lobbyists for the Christian Right who claimed that the hate crimes bill would protect pedophiles, promote sex with animals, and lead the way for gay marriages. We need to let him know we disagree with his willingness to bargain away our freedoms. Please write or call today